Game moment implementation system and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for implementing a moment of a videogame for playing a portion of a videogame; it includes receiving user selection input of a moment of a particular videogame associated with starting at a particular progress point of the particular videogame; causing an emulation to start of the particular videogame for streaming on the computer of the user; performing image analysis of the image stream to generate metadata on progress of the particular game by the user; determining if one or more end conditions of the moment is met through analysis of the metadata; and causing the emulation to end, resulting in an end of the streaming of the particular game on the computer of the user, if the one or more end conditions is met.

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. Pat.Application No. 17/879,017, filed on Aug. 2, 2022, which is a bypasscontinuation application of International PCT application No.PCT/CA2021/051549 filed Nov. 2, 2021, designating the United States,that claims priority from U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No.63/110,195 filed on Nov. 5, 2020, incorporated herein by reference, andU.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 63/217,147 filed on Jun. 30, 2021,incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to gaming, and more particularly tosystems for playing select in-game highlights.

BACKGROUND

Videogame streaming has become a popular vehicle for users to consumevideogames. Users may select a videogame for playing on streamingplatforms such as OnMobile™, where the videogame is streamed on thesmartphone or tablet of the user. Streaming platforms also exist forcomputers or laptops.

As users play a videogame, users may create custom challenges amongstthemselves that are beyond the initial challenges or win conditions setby the videogame developer. For instance, the users may start in a levelof a videogame with hostile units, and challenge users to complete thelevel by performing a “passive run”, where you complete the levelwithout eliminating any hostile units. In other examples, the challengemay be to complete a map in the videogame without wearing any armor orwithout any weapons. However, as these custom challenges areorchestrated by the user community, the videogame may not be adapted tomeasure the performance of users when undertaking these customchallenges.

As such, it would be advantageous to develop a system for offering usersa set of custom challenges for a particular videogame, where the customchallenge did not originally exist in the original videogame. Moreover,the system could offer the user with the opportunity to play thevideogame at certain instances within the videogame.

Finally, unlike current systems for allowing users to play specificmoments in the video, it would be further advantageous to offer a systemthat does not alter, or only minimally alters, the base game, in orderto ascertain the progress of the base game to determine when the momenthas ended.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a system for playing moments of avideogame, where each moment is associated with a videogame snapshot,corresponding to a point within the videogame. The moment may alter thesnapshot to adapt the challenge and/or the goals of the base game of thesnapshot.

A broad aspect of the present disclosure is a system where the moment isassociated with a script or an overlay script providing information onthe execution of the moment when the emulator runs the snapshotassociated with the moment.

Another broad aspect is a system including software to perform imageanalysis of the image stream of the run videogame to collect and compilevideogame on the progress of the videogame snapshot. As the imageanalysis is performed on the image stream that is to be displayed on thecomputing device of the user, the image analysis enables the system tocollect information on the progress of the user in the snapshot gamewithout having to receive or analyse the game data of the run videogame,instead analyzing the image once generated by the videogame’s programcode.

For instance, the system generates metadata from the analysis of theimage objects appearing in the video stream, the metadata analyzed todetermine the progress of the videogame. In some examples, the imageobject may be that of a score, a timekeeper, a number of objectscollected, the state of an enemy to be neutralized in the gamer, thehealth of the player’s character, etc. In the example of the score, themetadata may be that of the value appearing in the score image object.The metadata analysis involves comparing the score value with a setthreshold value. When the set threshold value is reached, the systemsends a command to end the snapshot of the game, ending the streaming ofthe videogame, where the reaching of the set threshold value is anindication that the user has reached the objective of the snapshot.

Another broad aspect is a method for implementing a moment of avideogame for playing a portion of a videogame. The method includesreceiving user selection input, provided on a computer of the user, of amoment of a particular videogame associated with starting at aparticular progress point of the particular videogame other than abeginning of the particular videogame, the moment associated with one ormore end conditions for stopping a playing of the particular videogame;causing an emulation to start of the particular videogame for streamingon the computer of the user, the stream including an image stream of theparticular videogame, starting at the specific progress pointcorresponding to the selected game moment; performing image analysis ofthe image stream for display on a display of the computer of the user togenerate metadata on progress of the particular game by the user;determining if the one or more end conditions is met through analysis ofthe metadata on the progress of the particular game generated throughimage analysis; and causing the emulation to end, resulting in an end ofthe streaming of the particular game on the computer of the user, if atleast one of the one or more end conditions is met.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may include object recognitionto identify image objects in the image stream.

In some embodiments, the object recognition may be to identify at leastone of hostile unit image objects and resource image objects appearingin the image stream.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may include optical characterrecognition to identify characters appearing in the image stream.

In some embodiments, the optical character recognition may identify atleast one of a score and a timer included in image frames of the imagestream.

In some embodiments, the method may include generating an overlay fortransmission to the computer of the user, wherein the overlay may beadded onto an image of the streamed particular game appearing on adisplay of the computer of the user, the overlay adding information,associated with the selected moment, to the image absent from the imagestream corresponding to the stream of the particular game.

In some embodiments, the method may include updating the informationadded by the overlay as the user progresses through the game, whereinthe updating of the information may be performed based on the analyzedmetadata on the progress of the particular game generated through imageanalysis.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more end conditions ofthe selected moment may be different from an end condition of theparticular game.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may be performed in accordancewith instructions provided by a script generated for the selectedmoment, the instructions affecting a type of metadata generated throughthe image analysis.

In some embodiments, the method may include dividing the image intoinformation-rich and information-poor portions, wherein the imageanalysis of the image stream may be performed in the information-richportions of the graphical user interface.

Another broad aspect is a method for implementing a moment of avideogame for playing a portion of the videogame starting at aparticular starting point, the moment associated with snapshot data forstarting to stream the videogame at the particular progress point. Themethod includes receiving user selection input, provided on a computerof the user, of a moment of a videogame associated with starting at aparticular progress point of the videogame other than a beginning of thevideogame; generating a script for the selected moment defining one ormore end conditions for stopping a playing of the videogame; retrievingsnapshot data of the videogame corresponding to the selected moment, thesnapshot data including information for starting a stream of thevideogame at the particular progress point; causing a start of anemulation to stream the snapshot data to the computer of the user forenabling gameplay of the videogame at the particular progress point onthe computer of the user; monitoring progress of the gameplay by theuser to determine if one of the one or more end conditions defined bythe script has been reached; and causing an end of the emulation whenthe one of the one or more end conditions has been met.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more end conditions maybe different from the end conditions of the videogame.

In some embodiments, the one or more end conditions of the script maydefine a win condition and a loss condition, wherein the win conditionmay be different from a win condition of the videogame.

In some embodiments, the monitoring the progress of gameplay may beperformed through image analysis of an image stream of the stream of thesnapshot data.

In some embodiments, metadata may be generated from the image analysisfor determining the progress of gameplay, and wherein the determining ifthe one or more end conditions of the script is met may be by analyzingthe generated metadata to determine if the one or more end conditions ofthe script is met.

In some embodiments, the generated metadata may include one or morevalues attributable to image objects or characters appearing in theimage stream, and wherein at least one of the one or more end conditionsmay include a value that is compared with the one or more valuesincluded in the generated metadata to determine if the at least one ofthe one or more end conditions is met.

In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include one or moreof a lose condition when the life total of a player of the user reaches0; a win condition when a timer clocks down to 0; a lose condition whena time clocks down to 0; and a win condition when a hostile unitappearing the snapshot is defeated.

In some embodiments, more than one moment selectable by the user may beassociated with the snapshot data, and wherein a different script may begenerated for each of the more than one moment, and wherein each scriptmay have at least one different end condition.

In some embodiments, the method may include generating an overlay fortransmission to the computer of the user, wherein the overlay may beadded onto an image of the streamed snapshot data appearing on a displayof the computer of the user, the overlay adding information for the userindicative of how close the user is to meeting at least one of the oneor more end conditions of the script.

In some embodiments, the method may include displaying a message throughthe overlay indicative of one of the one or more conditions of thescript being met when the one of the one or more conditions is met.

Another broad aspect is a computing device for implementing a moment ofa videogame for playing a portion of a videogame. The computing deviceincludes memory to store data and instructions; a processor incommunication with the memory; instructions stored in memory that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to: receive userselection input, provided on a computer of the user, of a moment of aparticular videogame associated with starting at a particular progresspoint of the particular videogame other than a beginning of theparticular videogame, the moment associated with one or more endconditions for stopping a playing of the particular videogame; cause anemulation to start of the particular videogame for streaming on thecomputer of the user, the stream including an image stream of theparticular videogame, starting at the specific progress pointcorresponding to the selected game moment; perform image analysis of theimage stream for display on a display of the computer of the user togenerate metadata on progress of the particular game by the user;determine if the one or more end conditions is met through analysis ofthe metadata on the progress of the particular game generated throughimage analysis; and cause the emulation to end, resulting in an end ofthe streaming of the particular game on the computer of the user, if theof more end conditions is met.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may include object recognitionto identify image objects in the image stream.

In some embodiments, the object recognition may be to identify at leastone of hostile unit image objects and resource image objects appearingin the image stream.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may include optical characterrecognition to identify characters appearing in the image stream.

In some embodiments, the optical character recognition may identify atleast one of a score and a timer included in image frames of the imagestream.

In some embodiments, the computer device may include instructions storedin memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor togenerate an overlay for transmission to the computer of the user,wherein the overlay is added onto an image of the streamed particulargame appearing on a display of the computer of the user, the overlayadding information, associated with the selected moment, to the imageabsent from the image stream corresponding to the stream of theparticular game.

In some embodiments, the computing device may include instructionsstored in memory that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to update the information added by the overlay as the userprogresses through the game, wherein the updating of the information isperformed based on the analyzed metadata on the progress of theparticular game generated through image analysis.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more end conditions ofthe selected moment may be different from an end condition of theparticular game.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may be performed in accordancewith instructions provided by a script generated for the selectedmoment, the instructions affecting a type of metadata generated throughthe image analysis.

In some embodiments, the computing device may include instructionsstored in memory that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to divide the image into information-rich and information-poorportions, wherein the image analysis of the image stream is performed inthe information-rich portions of the graphical user interface.

Another broad aspect is a computing device for implementing a moment ofa videogame for playing a portion of the videogame starting at aparticular starting point, the moment associated with snapshot data forstarting to stream the videogame at the particular progress point. Thecomputing device includes memory to store data and instructions; aprocessor in communication with the memory; instructions stored inmemory that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor toreceive user selection input, provided on a computer of the user, of amoment of a videogame associated with starting at a particular progresspoint of the videogame other than a beginning of the videogame; generatea script for the selected moment defining one or more end conditions forstopping a playing of the videogame; retrieve snapshot data of thevideogame corresponding to the selected moment, the snapshot dataincluding information for starting a stream of the videogame at theparticular progress point; cause a start of an emulation to stream thesnapshot data to the computer of the user for enabling gameplay of thevideogame at the particular progress point on the computer of the user;monitor progress of the gameplay by the user to determine if one of theone or more end conditions defined by the script has been reached; andcause an end of the emulation when the one of the one or more endconditions has been met.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more end conditions maybe different from the end conditions of the videogame.

In some embodiments, the one or more end conditions of the script maydefine a win condition and a loss condition, wherein the win conditionmay be different from a win condition of the videogame.

In some embodiments, the monitoring the progress of gameplay may beperformed through image analysis of an image stream of the stream of thesnapshot data.

In some embodiments, metadata may be generated from the image analysisfor determining the progress of gameplay, and wherein the determining ifthe one or more end conditions of the script is met may be by analyzingthe generated metadata to determine if the one or more end conditions ofthe script is met.

In some embodiments, the generated metadata may include one or morevalues attributable to image objects or characters appearing in theimage stream, and wherein at least one of the one or more end conditionsmay include a value that is compared with the one or more valuesincluded in the generated metadata to determine if the at least one ofthe one or more end conditions is met.

In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include one or moreof a lose condition when the life total of a player of the user reaches0; a win condition when a timer clocks down to 0; a lose condition whena time clocks down to 0; and a win condition when a hostile unitappearing the snapshot is defeated.

In some embodiments, more than one moment selectable by the user may beassociated with the snapshot data, and wherein a different script may begenerated for each of the more than one moment, and wherein each scriptmay have at least one different end condition.

In some embodiments, the computing device may include instructionsstored in memory that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to generate an overlay for transmission to the computer of theuser, wherein the overlay is added onto an image of the streamedsnapshot data appearing on a display of the computer of the user, theoverlay adding information for the user indicative of how close the useris to meeting at least one of the one or more end conditions of thescript.

In some embodiments, the computing device may include instructionsstored in memory that, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to display a message through the overlay indicative of one ofthe one or more conditions of the script being met when the one of theone or more conditions is met.

Another broad aspect is a system for implementing a moment of avideogame for playing a portion of a videogame. The system includes thecomputing device as defined herein; and an application program stored inmemory on the computing device of the user, that, upon execution by aprocessor of the computing device, causes the processor to generate agraphical user interface on a display of the computing device of theuser providing a user with a plurality of moments to select from,wherein each moment of the plurality of moments is associated withsnapshot data for starting a videogame at a particular progress point ofthe videogame, wherein the plurality of moments are related to aplurality of videogames; receive user selection input of a moment fromthe plurality of moments; receive the stream of the snapshot data, andgenerate on the display of the computing device of the user an imageassociated with the videogame based on the received stream; and after nolonger receiving the stream of the snapshot data, generate again thegraphical user interface on the display of the computing device of theuser providing the user with a plurality of moments to select from.

Another broad aspect is non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding instructions for, upon execution by a processor of thecomputer, causing the processor to receive user selection input,provided on a computer of the user, of a moment of a particularvideogame associated with starting at a particular progress point of theparticular videogame other than a beginning of the particular videogame,the moment associated with one or more end conditions for stopping aplaying of the particular videogame; cause an emulation to start of theparticular videogame for streaming on the computer of the user, thestream including an image stream of the particular videogame, startingat the specific progress point corresponding to the selected gamemoment; perform image analysis of the image stream for display on adisplay of the computer of the user to generate metadata on progress ofthe particular game by the user; determine if the one or more endconditions is met through analysis of the metadata on the progress ofthe particular game generated through image analysis; and cause theemulation to end, resulting in an end of the streaming of the particulargame on the computer of the user, if the of more end conditions is met.

Another broad aspect is non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding instructions for, upon execution by a processor of thecomputer, causing the processor to generate a script for the selectedmoment defining one or more end conditions for stopping a playing of thevideogame; retrieve snapshot data of the videogame corresponding to theselected moment, the snapshot data including information for starting astream of the videogame at the particular progress point; cause a startof an emulation to stream the snapshot data to the computer of the userfor enabling gameplay of the videogame at the particular progress pointon the computer of the user; monitor progress of the gameplay by theuser to determine if one of the one or more end conditions defined bythe script has been reached; and cause an end of the emulation when theone of the one or more end conditions has been met.

Another broad aspect is a method of seamlessly streaming videogameportions corresponding to a plurality of videogame moments, wherein eachmoment is associated with a portion of a particular videogame startingat a particular progress point of the particular videogame. The methodincludes, upon a user completing a videogame moment by reaching an endcondition of the videogame moment, querying a moment playlist datastructure defining a playlist of videogame moments including thecompleted videogame moment; selecting another videogame moment of theplaylist of videogame moments as defined in the moment playlist datastructure; and causing an emulation to start of the particular videogamestarting at the specific progress point corresponding to the identifiedanother videogame moment, wherein moments following the completion ofanother videogame moment are selected from the moment playlist datastructure.

Another broad aspect is a computing device for implementing seamlessstreaming of videogame portions corresponding to a plurality ofvideogame moments, wherein each moment is associated with a portion of aparticular videogame starting at a particular progress point of theparticular videogame. The computing device includes memory to store dataand instructions; a processor in communication with the memory;instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to, upon a user completing a videogame moment byreaching an end condition of the videogame moment, query a momentplaylist data structure defining a playlist of videogame momentsincluding the completed videogame moment; select another videogamemoment of the playlist of videogame moments as defined in the momentplaylist data structure; and cause an emulation to start of theparticular videogame starting at the specific progress pointcorresponding to the identified another videogame moment, whereinmoments following the completion of the another videogame moment areselected from the moment playlist data structure.

Another broad aspect is non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincluding instructions for implementing seamless streaming of videogameportions corresponding to a plurality of videogame moments, wherein eachmoment is associated with a portion of a particular videogame startingat a particular progress point of the particular videogame by, uponexecution by a processor of the computer, causing the processor to uponan end condition of the videogame moment being met indicating of thecompletion of the videogame moment, query a moment playlist datastructure defining a playlist of videogame moments including thecompleted videogame moment; select another videogame moment of theplaylist of videogame moments as defined in the moment playlist datastructure; and cause an emulation to start of the particular videogamestarting at the specific progress point corresponding to the identifiedanother videogame moment, wherein moments following the completion ofthe another videogame moment are selected from the moment playlist datastructure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood by way of the following detaileddescription of embodiments of the invention with reference to theappended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block of an exemplary system for providing videogame momentsand for running snapshots to provide users with selected videogamemoments;

FIG. 2 is another block diagram of the exemplary system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is an event flow diagram showing the interactions between thedifferent elements of the system and the computing device;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram of an exemplary set of steps carried outby processor executing the program code of an exemplary moment catalogueapplication program stored in memory of an exemplary computing device;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary network for playing moments ofa videogame;

FIG. 6A is a screen capture of an exemplary image of a streamed snapshotof a videogame;

FIG. 6B is a screen capture of an exemplary image of a streamed snapshotof a videogame with an overlay;

FIG. 7 is a screen capture of an exemplary graphical user interfaceshowing exemplary optical character recognition performed on anexemplary image of a streamed snapshot of a videogame; and

FIG. 8 is a screen capture of an exemplary graphical user interfaceshowing an exemplary set of end conditions for a script of a moment foran exemplary snapshot of a videogame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a system for providing one or moreusers with a selection of moments associated with a plurality ofvideogames, allowing the user(s) to experience or re-experience definedportions within the videogame with the base parameters of the videogameor through an added set of parameters defined by a moment script of themoment that can alter how the user undertakes that particular portion ofthe game. As such, the moment can alter the gaming experience, addingvariety to the particular portion of the videogame.

Moreover, as the script associated with the moment does not alter thebase program code associated with the videogame or the snapshot code ofthe videogame, a videogame developer may implement moments for aparticular videogame, adding a variety of new challenges and objectivesto the videogame, without having to expend extensive resources alteringthe base videogame program code, saving resources.

Additionally, the system may monitor progress of the user within thesnapshot to assess user performance and/or when the snapshot should endas the user has reached an endpoint of the moment by generating metadataassociated with the running of the videogame without accessing thesource data of the running of the videogame. More particularly, thesystem may perform image analysis of the image stream generated by theexecuted program code of the videogame, that is to appear on the displayof the user’s computing device. Metadata is generated from the imageanalysis that is further assessed by the system to provide an indicatoras to the progress of the user in the videogame snapshot.

Definitions

In the present disclosure, by “moment”, it is meant an instance of avideogame defined by snapshot data and by specific parameters detailedin a moment script for determining at least when to end the snapshot ofthe videogame (e.g. win conditions, lose conditions), and may definedifferent rules for calculating a score of a user when playing thesnapshot. Many moments may exist for a single snapshot, where eachmoment may define, e.g., different end conditions, different conditionsfor increasing the player’s score, etc. For instance, a snapshot in thevideogame may start at a point where a player is to engage with a bosshostile unit. However, the moment may specify that a win condition is tonot damage the boss hostile unit for a given time, and the snapshot endswhen damage is first dealt to the boss hostile unit, a timer runs out,or the player reaches 0 hit points. Another moment associated with thesame snapshot may be to take down the same boss hostile unit under 60seconds, where the snapshot ends when one of the following conditions ismet: the player’s hit points reaches 0; the timer equals 60 seconds; orthe hit points of the boss hostile unit reaches 0. As such, the momentprovides a script for determining progress of the user in the snapshotof the videogame, where the moment sets a unique challenge for the userin the videogame when playing the streamed snapshot.

In the present disclosure, by “player” it is meant the charactercontrolled by the user when playing a videogame, or the in-gamemanifestation of the user controlled by the user when playing thevideogame.

In the present disclosure, by “snapshot”, it is meant program code that,when executed by a processor of a computing device, streamed to thecomputing device, causes the processor to generate a videogame for auser to play at a particular progress point in the videogame and with aparticular game state, such that the user starts playing the videogameat that particular progress point. The progress point may be the startof a specific trial, such as a timed challenge in the base game, thepoint before engaging with a boss hostile unit, etc. The snapshot mayspecify in its data a game state setting certain conditions orproperties of the game at that point, such as the equipment of theplayer at that point, the starting resources, the starting life total(e.g. hit points), the number and character of hostile units, the numberand character of the allied units, etc. There may be multiple snapshotsassociated with a single videogame, where each snapshot may beassociated with a different progress point in the videogame.

In the present disclosure, by “user”, it is meant the real-world personwho is playing a videogame, controlling the player.

Exemplary System for Providing a Catalogue of Moments in one or MoreVideogames For Play by a User

Reference is made to FIG. 1 , illustrating an exemplary system 100 forproviding a catalogue of moments in one or more videogames that can beplayed by a user.

The system 100 includes a server 120, a snapshot database 143 and mayinteract with one or more computing devices 200 of users on which thesnapshot of a videogame may be played.

The server 120 has a processor 171, memory 172 and an input/outputinterface 173.

The processor 171 may be a general-purpose programmable processor. Inthis example, the processor 171 is shown as being unitary, but theprocessor may also be multicore, or distributed (e.g. amulti-processor).

The computer readable memory 172 stores program instructions and dataused by the processor 171. The memory 172 may be non-transitory. Thecomputer readable memory 172, though shown as unitary for simplicity inthe present example, may comprise multiple memory modules and/orcashing. In particular, it may comprise several layers of memory such asa hard drive, external drive (e.g. SD card storage) or the like and afaster and smaller RAM module. The RAM module may store data and/orprogram code currently being, recently being or soon to be processed bythe processor 171 as well as cache data and/or program code from a harddrive. A hard drive may store program code and be accessed to retrievesuch code for execution by the processor 171 and may be accessed by theprocessor 171 to store, moment scripts, metadata obtained through imageanalysis, saved image stream associated with a playthrough of thesnapshot, etc. as explained herein. The memory 172 may have a recyclingarchitecture for storing, for instance, moment scripts, metadataobtained through image analysis, saved image stream associated with aplaythrough of the snapshot, performance scores, etc., where older datafiles are deleted when the memory 172 is full or near being full, orafter the older data files have been stored in memory 172 for a certaintime.

The input/output interface 173 is in communication with the processor171. The I/O interface 173 is a network interface and may be a wirelessinterface for establishing a remote connection with, for example, aremote server, an external database such as snapshot database 143 (e.g.through an application program interface as described herein) or astreaming server 140, one or more computing devices 200, etc. Forinstance, the I/O interface 173 may be an Ethernet port, a WAN port, aTCP port, etc.

The processor 171, the memory 172 and the I/O interface 173 may belinked via BUS connections.

The computing device 200 is the device on which the user plays thesnapshot of the videogame.

The computing device 200 has a processor 201, memory 202, a display 204,a user input interface 205, an I/O interface 203.

The memory 202 may store program code for a moment catalogue applicationprogram that, when executed by the processor 201, causes the processor201 to generate on the display 204 a graphical user interface providinga selection of moments for the user to select from, where each of themoments is associated with a base game.

The user input interface 205 may be a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen(where the display is a touchscreen and also serves as a user inputinterface), a microphone, one or more accelerometers to ascertainmovements of the computing device or of a peripheral held by the user, aproximity sensor or camera to detect movements and/or position of theuser, etc.

The computing device 200 may be connected to the server 120 via a remoteconnection, such as via the Internet, established between I/O interface173 (having a unique address; e.g. IP address) and the I/O interface 203(also having a unique address; e.g. IP address) (where the computingdevice 200 may communicate wirelessly with the server 120).

The connection between the server 120 and the streaming server 140(including the snapshot database 143) may be wired or wireless.

With reference now to FIG. 2 , the server 120 manages the implementationof a moment through a videogame snapshot.

The system 100 also includes an emulator application program interface(API) 142. The snapshot corresponding to the moment is streamed onto theclient’s computing device 200 (e.g. a smartphone, a tablet computer, adesktop computer, a laptop, etc.) and may be modified as a function of amoments script associated with the moment selected by the user.

The server 120 includes a moment script interpreter 121 and a streamcontroller 122. The server 120 may include an overlay controller 123, astream metadata extraction module 124 and a replay saver 125.

The moment script interpreter 121 of the server 120 includes programcode stored in memory 172 of the server 120 that, when executed by theprocessor 171, causes the processor 171 to read and interpret the scriptdata of a moment received from the content management system 110. Themoment script interpreter 121 then causes the processor 171 to generateand transmit a command to the stream controller 122 to initiate thesnapshot associated with the moment, as defined in the moment scriptdata.

The stream controller 122 of the server 120 includes program code storedin memory 172 of the server 120 that, when executed by the processor171, causes the processor 171 to receive the command to initiate thesnapshot for the moment from the moment script interpreter 121, and thento generate and transmit a command 141 to the emulator API 142 (e.g. viaI/O interface 173), to start the stream of the snapshot associated withthe moment. The start command 141 contains identifier information on thegiven snapshot to start, corresponding to the information provided bythe moments script data 111.

In some embodiments, the server 120 includes program code for an overlaycontroller 123 stored in memory that, when executed by the processor,causes the processor to generate an overlay 132 of information that isadded to the image of the image stream that is displayed on the display204 of the computing device 200. The overlay 132 may include addedobjects or text to the displayed image of the image stream of thevideogame, such as numbers of characters for a score, a timer, the nameof the moment, etc. The overlay 132 provides the user with addedinformation for the moment, the information added to the image of thesnapshot of the videogame available on the display of the user,enhancing the experience of the user when completing the moment orsharing with the user information that the user requires for carryingout the moment. The overlay 132 may be one or more user interfacecomponents such as a timer bar, one or more pop ups, such as a score,questions, buttons, status messages, etc. presented on the image of thevideogame available to the user through the display of the computingdevice. These interface components may be accessible using anapplication program interface (API) for controlling or triggering themthrough the overlay controller 123, where data for the overlay 132 maybe sent via the overlay controller 123. For the timer component, thetimer component may be set up by the overlay controller 123 on theoverlay 132, and the time may be updated locally (e.g. second by second)(no need to receive timer pings from the overlay controller 123). Theoverlay controller 123 may issue a command to stop the timer. Moreover,the overlay controller 123 may receive the metadata generated by thestream metadata extraction module 124 and may also receive informationfrom the moment script interpreter 121 on the script for the moment. Theoverlay controller 123 may control the overlay 132 as a function on thescript of the moment in order to execute the logic involved for thatmoment, and update the information of the overlay 132 as a function ofthe generated or extracted metadata from the stream metadata extractionmodule 124.

In some embodiments, the server 120 includes program code for mediastream extraction 124 stored in memory 172 that, when executed by theprocessor 171, causes the processor 171 to perform image analysis of theimage stream associated with the game snapshot, run by the emulator. Theanalysis of the image stream results in the generation of metadataassociated with the game snapshot (e.g. the progress of the gamesnapshot). As such, the media stream extraction program code 124provides certain information on the progress of the game withoutaltering the source code of the videogame or requiring the source codeof the videogame that is the basis of the snapshot, to e.g., verify ifthe conditions for ending the moment, defined in the moment script data,are met.

In some embodiments, the server 120 includes program code for a replaysaver 125, stored in memory 172, that causes the processor 171 to, uponexecution by the processor 171, save a video file of the execution ofthe snapshot by the user in a database, the video file includingmetadata on the moment (e.g. the user’s player identifier, a timestamp,information on the length of the snapshot, the game associated with themoment, the score, etc.)

The content management system (CMS) 110 contains program code that, whenexecuted by the processor, causes the processor to receive from theserver 110 user input corresponding to a selection of a moment to play,and generates a script for the specific moment 111. The script for themoment includes information to allow for the running of the moment byexecuting the program code of a given videogame snapshot associated withthe snapshot, including the conditions for ending the snapshot.

Exemplary Network for Playing Moments of a Videogame

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 , illustrating an exemplary network 500for playing moments of one or more videogames.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the server 120 can service a plurality of clientcomputing devices 200, where each computing device 200 may have accessto a catalogue of available moments of a videogame through a website orthrough a moment catalogue application program stored in memory of thecomputing device 200.

The moments available for play may differ from one user to the next(e.g. based on the profile of the user). The moments available may bedependent on the subscription package associated with the profile, thecompletion by the user of certain moments that unlock new moments, thegeolocation of the user or of the computing device, the time of year,etc.

Each computing device 200 may be associated with a given address (e.g. agiven IP address), the server 120 (or emulator) transmitting thecorresponding snapshot data (and, in some examples, the overlay 132) tothe address of the computing device 200 having selected a given moment.

Exemplary Method of Implementing a Moment of a Videogame

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 , illustrating flow of an exemplarymethod of implementing a moment of a videogame associated with asnapshot of the videogame. For illustrative purposes, reference will bemade to system 100 and to computing device 200. However, it will beunderstood that any system and/or computing device in accordance withthe present teachings may be used.

A user can select a moment of a videogame from a selection of moments(originating from one or more videogames) from the computing device 200.The videogames may originate from one or more videogame developers,where the code for the one or more videogames may be stored inrespective databases managed by the respective videogame developer.

The selection of moments is presented through a graphical user interfaceprovided on the display of the computing device 200. The graphical userinterface may be provided via a website, be produced by a processor 201of the computing device 200 executing the program code of a game catalogapplication program stored in the memory 202 of the computing device200. The user may have access to certain moments only after certaincriteria have been met (e.g. the user has paid for an addedsubscription; the user has completed some other moments; the user hasbeen using the platform for a portion of time; it is a specific day ofthe year, etc.)

The user’s selection of a specific moment is transmitted from thecomputing device 200 to the server 120 as moment selection information131.

In some examples, the graphical user interface for selecting the momentmay provide the user with one or more options for setting the conditionsof the moment (e.g. or winning conditions). For instance, as shown inFIG. 8 , exit triggers (e.g. end conditions) may be set for a givenmoment by the user. The graphical user interface may also provide theuser with the image analysis information that led to a given value orscore extraction, as shown in FIG. 7 .

Upon the server 120 receiving the moment selection information 131 fromthe computing device 200, the server 120 generates and transmits acommand to the content management system (CMS) 110 to generate a scriptfor the specific moment 111. The script for the moment includesinformation to execute the given snapshot, including providinginformation on when to end the snapshot. For instance, an exemplaryscript for a moment may include, but is not limited to, the followinginformation:

-   An identifier of a snapshot associated with the moment, retrievable    from the snapshot database 143;-   one or more triggers that are readable in real-time during gameplay    to cause an action to be performed during gameplay;-   one or more conditions for causing the streaming of the snapshot    data to end, the meeting of the one or more conditions defining the    end of the moment;-   instructions for the overlay controller 132 to generate an overlay    123 tailored to the specific moment;-   metadata such as icon data for the moment, a string of characters    for a moment description in certain languages, a “type” indicator    for the moment, etc.-   instructions for the metadata extraction module 124;-   parameters for calculating a score for the user streaming the    snapshot associated to the moment.

The moment script data is transmitted from the content management system110 to the server 120.

The moment script interpreter 121 of the server 120 causes the processor171 to read and interpret the script data of the moment received fromthe content management system 110. The moment script interpreter 121then causes the processor 171 to generate and transmit a command to thestream controller 122 to initiate the snapshot for the moment, thecommand including information on the snapshot associated with themoment.

The stream controller 122 causes the processor 171 to receive thecommand to initiate the snapshot for the moment, and then generates andtransmits a command 141 to the emulator API 142 of the streaming server140 to start the stream of the snapshot associated with the moment byretrieving the snapshot data for generating the videogame at aparticular progress point in the game (and in a game state) associatedwith the snapshot. The start command 141 contains identifier informationon the given snapshot to retrieve and start, corresponding to theinformation provide by the moments script data 111.

The emulator API 142 interfaces with the snapshot database 143, andreceives the command to start the emulation of the snapshot. Theemulator API 142 causes a query to be sent to the snapshot database 143to retrieve the snapshot data associated with command, and with theselected moment. The emulator API 142 receives the retrieved snapshotdata from the snapshot database 143 to run the game at the specifictime.

The snapshot data is transmitted to the emulator of the streaming server140, causing the emulator to run the snapshot data in order for theemulator to preload the videogame in a particular state associated withthe snapshot data (e.g. at a progress point in the game, with specificset parameters such as the player’s health, resources, equipment, etc.)

The game run by the emulator is streamed to the computing device 200,e.g. via the server 120 or directly to the computing device 200. In someembodiments, the server 120 generates an overlay 132 through the overlaycontroller 123. The overlay 132 may be generated by the overlaycontroller 123 as a function of the moment script data for theparticular moment. The overlay 132 may add extra information or imageinformation onto the image of the image streamed of the streamedsnapshot appearing on the display 204 of the computing device 200 (i.e.an overlay of information onto the image, such as a chronometer, ascore, the identifier of the moment, etc.)

In some embodiments, the overlay controller 123 may also act as aconduit of information between the computing device 200 streaming thesnapshot and the emulator running the streamed snapshot of thevideogame. For instance, user input provided on the computing device 200may be collected by the overlay 132 and transmitted to the overlaycontroller 123, the overlay controller 123 then transmitting the userinput to the emulator, such that the user input may be replayed on theemulator to cause the emulator to carry out the actions associated withthe user input.

As such, as the user plays the snapshot on the computing device 200,user input 133 associated with playing the game is transmitted by thegame catalog application program or website to the server 120. The userinput is transmitted to a streaming server 140 that runs the emulatorsuch that the actions corresponding to the input may be implemented intothe progress of the snapshot of the game.

The streamed game and audio, as it is received by the server 120, isanalyzed by the stream metadata extraction module 124. The streammetadata extraction module 124 analyzes the stream data (e.g. the imagestream) by performing image analysis of the image stream associated withthe streamed game snapshot, run by the emulator, for, e.g. featureextraction of the image stream. The analyzed image stream generatesmetadata associated with the game snapshot (e.g. the progress ofgameplay).

The analysis of the image stream may be, for instance, optical characterrecognition to identify, e.g., text, numbers associated with a score, atimer, the number of hit points left for the user, a number of resourcescollected, etc. In some embodiments, the analysis of the image streammay include object recognition, using, e.g., analysis techniques knownin the art, to identify (and, in some examples, track) certain objectsappearing in the image frames of the image stream. Such objects mayinclude, but are not limited to, equipment, the appearance of a threator hostile unit to indicate its status, the existence and/or number ofcertain collectibles. The objects analyzed through image analysis maygenerate metadata that can be used to track the progress of the user inthe snapshot. The user input 133 may also be sent to the media streamextraction program code 124, where the user input 133 may be analyzed tofurther improve the image analysis, where, e.g., certain image objects,or change in image objects, may be correlated with user input. Forinstance, the disappearance of a hostile in the image stream can becorrelated with the pressing of a key for attacking. In someembodiments, the parameters of the image analysis may be adapted as afunction of the moment script data, where the moment script data mayprovide instructions on the objects to identify.

In some examples, the stream metadata extraction module 124 may alsoreceived other streamed data of the streamed snapshot, such as audiodata, and can further process the audio data to produce metadata (e.g.on the progress of the game). For instance, if the neutralizing of ahostile unit results in the generating of a sound effect, the streammetadata extraction module 124 may identify the sound effect (audiodata) associated with the neutralizing of the hostile unit, compare theaudio data to reference audio data for the neutralizing of the hostileunit, and generate metadata (e.g. a count or value) indicative that oneunit of the hostile unit has been neutralized, resulting in the momentscript interpreter 123, receiving the metadata, increasing an integerfor “number of hostile units neutralized” by “1”, to monitor when thecondition of the moment (e.g. “number of hostile units neutralized” =“50”) is met.

The metadata generated through image analysis of the image stream of thesnapshot by the processor 171 executing the media stream extractionprogram code 124 may be transmitted to the moment script interpreter121.

The stream metadata extraction module 124 may communicate with theoverlay controller 123 and /or the moment script interpreter 121 totransmit the metadata generated that can be processed to reflect a stateof progress of the snapshot.

The overlay controller 123 can then update the information appearing onthe overlay 132 to reflect the progress of the game, based on themetadata generated by the stream metadata extraction module 124. Forinstance, the score appearing on the overlay can be gradually updated toreflect the user’s performance in the snapshot.

For instance, in one moment where the objective is to collect the mostamount of resources (e.g. bananas) within five minutes within theparticular snapshot, where the game is run from a top-down view, themedia stream extraction program code 124 causes the processor to performimage analysis of the frames of the image stream to identify bananaimage objects appearing in the image. The number of banana objectsidentified may be transmitted to the moment script interpreter 121and/or to the overlay controller 123. The image analysis may beperformed punctually over the image frames of the image stream. As thebananas are collected by the player, the bananas no longer appear in theimage. As such, the media stream extraction program code 124 identifiesless banana image objects as the user collects the bananas. The momentscript interpreter 121 interprets the metadata received from the mediastream extraction program code 124, correlating a decrease in the numberof banana image objects with the user collecting one or more bananas.The moment script interpreter 121 then increases an integer for “numberof bananas collected” correspondingly with the decrease in the number ofbanana objects appearing in the image stream, to assess if the user hasmet the victory condition for the moment to end the moment. The momentscript interpreter 121 may communicate the change of the number ofbananas collected to the overlay controller 123. The overlay controller123 may in turn update the value appearing in the overlay 132corresponding to the number of bananas collected, such that the user canvisualize its progress in playing the snapshot. In some examples, themetadata generated by the media stream extraction program code 124 maybe transmitted directly to the overlay controller 123 that may directlyprocess the metadata to update information conveyed through the overlay132 to the user.

In some embodiments, the image analysis may target information-richportions of the image of the streamed snapshot. For instance, certainportions of the image may contain more information on the score,resources collected, the remaining hit points of the player, etc. Forinstance, this information may be found in the top and/or bottom portionof the image. As such, in some examples, the script for the moment mayinclude instructions for the stream metadata extraction module 124 toperform image analysis only in certain portions of the image where thereis more information to generate metadata, and not perform image analysison other portions of the image where there is no information, or lessinformation, for the purpose of generating metadata. This may reduceprocessing costs and resource allocation of the server 120.

In some examples, different forms of image analysis may be performed indifferent portions of the image of the streamed snapshot. For instance,the script of the moment may include information for or instructions tothe stream metadata extraction module 124 to cause the processor toperform optical character recognition in portions of the image where thecharacters or text appears, and perform object recognition throughoutthe entire image or in the other portions of the image. In someexamples, the image may be divided into quadrants associated withdifferent forms of image analysis, or quadrants of information-rich andinformation-poor portions.

The server 120 then monitors the progress of the moment to determinewhen to stop the streaming of the snapshot.

For instance, the moment script interpreter 121 may cause the processor171 to analyze the metadata generated by the media stream extractionmodule 124 to determine if the stop condition for the moment has beenreached in the progress of the videogame. The moment script interpreter121 causes the processor 171 to analyze the metadata to determine if astop condition has been reached, the stop condition included as data inthe moments script data 111 for the given moment. For instance, the stopcondition may be that the user has reached a given score, that theuser’s character has lost all of its hit points, that a specific hostileunit in the videogame has been neutralized, that a given play time hasbeen reached, that a certain amount of a resource has been collected,etc. If the stop condition is met through the comparison performed bythe processor 171 executing, the program code for the moment scriptinterpreter 121, the moment script interpreter 121 generates a commandto the stream controller 122 to stop the streaming of the snapshot forthe moment.

The stream controller 122 receives the stop command and transmits a stopstream command 141 to the emulator.

The emulator, receiving the stop command, terminates the emulation,stopping the generating and transmission of the stream of the snapshotof the videogame to the computing device 200, through the server 120.

In some examples, the overlay controller 123 may also receive data fromthe moment script interpreter 121 that a condition to end the moment hasbeen reached. The overlay controller 123 may then update the overlay 132to provide an indicator to the user that the moment has come to an end,such as one of the following string of characters “YOU WIN”, “YOU LOSE”“YOU DIED”, etc.

Once the end condition of the moment has been met, the website or thegame catalogue application program running on the computing device 200may generate the graphical user interface providing the selection ofmoments of different videogames, allowing the user to select a newmoment for playing.

Once the new moment of the videogame has been selected, the method ofFIG. 3 may be repeated for that new moment.

In some embodiments, the emulator may be run through a separate serverthan server 120 (e.g. streaming server 140), where the server 120communicates with the server (e.g. the streaming server 140) of theemulator. In some examples, the emulator may run on server 120.

Exemplary Moment Catalogue Application Program Generating a MomentSelection Graphical User Interface on the Computing Device of the User

Reference is now made to FIG. 4 , illustrating an exemplary set of steps400 carried out by a processor 201 of a computing device 200 whenexecuting the program code of an exemplary moment catalogue applicationprogram stored in memory 202 of the computing device 200.

The moment catalogue application program is for providing the user witha selection of moments of games to browse through, resulting in acatalogue of game moments. As explained herein, each moment isassociated with snapshot data of a videogame. Upon the user selecting amoment, the moment catalogue application program acts as a flowthroughto allow the user to play the snapshot of the game on the computingdevice associated with the selected moment, the snapshot data streamedto the moment catalogue application program of the computing device 200.

In some examples, the equivalent functionality of the moment catalogueapplication program can be obtained by a user through a website insteadof the moment catalogue application program being stored in the memory202 of the computing device 200.

The moment catalogue application program causes the processor 201 togenerate a graphical user interface 210 that displays a selection ofmoment options to the user at step 410 that the user can browse through,where each moment is associated with a given game, a point in the gameand a particular end condition. The description of the moment may beavailable to the user through the graphical user interface in order toassist the user with selecting a moment. A thumbnail and/or a thumbnailof the moment may be associated with each moment and presented in thegraphical user interface.

The user selects a moment using the user input interface 205, the userinput transmitted by the processor 201 to the moment catalogueapplication program at step 420.

The moment catalogue application program causes the processor 201 totransmit the user selection input of the moment to the server 120 atstep 430.

The moment catalogue application program causes the processor 201 toreceive data associated with the beginning of the streaming of thesnapshot corresponding to the selected moment at step 440, transmittedby the server 120 or the streaming server 140 of the emulator.

Once the moment catalogue application program receives the stream data,the graphical user interface of the moment catalogue application programappearing on the display of the computing device 200 transitions to animage of the streamed snapshot of the running game (e.g. can transitionthrough a loading screen) at 450. Audio and other input associated withthe running of the game may also be shared with the user through thecomputing device, the data transmitted to the computing device 200 suchthat it can be processed by the moment catalogue application programreceiving the streamed data.

The moment catalogue application program may also receive an overlay 132from the server 120 (i.e. the overlay controller 123). The overlay 132may be added by the moment catalogue application program to the image ofthe snapshot generated on the display of the computing device, at step460 providing the user with additional information associated with theselected moment as described herein. The information appearing on theoverlay may be updated as the user plays the snapshot, the updatedinformation communicated by the overlay controller to the momentcatalogue application program.

As the user provides input on the computing device 200 associated withthe playing of the game, where the input is to cause actions to occurwithin the game space of the snapshot, the user input is relayed fromthe computing device 200 to the streaming server 140 of the emulator(e.g. to the streaming server 140 directly, or via the server 120 to thestreaming server 140), such that the emulator can process the input andgenerate the corresponding actions in-game.

The moment catalogue application program may stop receiving stream dataof the snapshot from the streaming server 140 of the emulator at step480 when the emulator receives instructions to stop running, indicativethat the moment has ended (i.e. an end condition of the moment has beenreached). The moment catalogue application program may also receiveupdated information to be displayed on the overlay to inform the userthat the moment has ended.

The moment catalogue application program may then cause the processor201 to transition back to the graphical user interface presenting aselection of moment options to the user at step 490, allowing the userto select a new moment to play.

Exemplary Overlay 132 for a Snapshot of a Videogame

Reference is now made to FIGS. 6A and 6B, illustrating exemplary screencaptures of exemplary images of a snapshot of a videogame appearing on adisplay of a computing device 200 when a user is completing a selectedmoment.

FIG. 6A shows an image of the snapshot of the videogame without anoverlay. FIG. 6B shows an image of the snapshot of the videogame with anoverlay, and including identification of image objects or information602 and 603 that may be used for metadata generation by the metadataextraction module 124.

In FIG. 6A, the player is shown riding a skateboard across a railroadtrack. The image shows in its bottom left corner a bar for the amount ofpower left for the player. The top of the image shows a number of itemscollected and a score (top-right corner).

In FIG. 6B, the overlay 132 has added a timer user interface component601 to the top-left corner. The user is then provided with the timerinformation, where the timer may be started or stopped by the overlaycontroller 123 through an API for interfacing with the overlay 132. Thetimer may also be updated locally to show the time appearing in thetimer.

The image analysis of the image stream may be dependent upon theconditions of the moment script of the selected moment. For instance,with respect to the moment associated with the screen capture of FIG.6B, the conditions for the moment may be, for instance, to pick up allof the guitar resources, to reach a specific combo multiplier, to reacha certain score, etc. The moment script may also specify that the usermay not use power during the moment, where the moment script may set acondition to end the moment if it is ever detected that power is usedwhen the player is in the snapshot completing the moment. As such, imageanalysis of the image stream of the snapshot of the game may beperformed to, e.g., identify through optical character recognition thenumber of guitars collected, the combo multiplier reached and/or thescore reached. Image analysis of the image stream of the snapshot of thegame may be performed to, e.g., identify through image objectrecognition and analysis if the object associated with the power barever varies, indicative that the user is using power to complete thegame. Metadata is generated through the image analysis and transmittedto the moment script interpreter 121.

Upon the moment script interpreter 121 verifying that one of the momentend conditions is met by analyzing the metadata generated through imageanalysis (e.g. combo multiplier reached, total guitars collected, scorereached or power used), the moment script interpreter 121 sends acommand to end the streaming of the snapshot to the emulator, ending themoment.

Exemplary System for Generating and Running a Moment Playlist

In some examples, due to the shorter time to complete a moment whencompared to a full videogame, there would be an advantage in allowing auser to play through a series of moments arranged as a playlist for alonger and seamless gameplay, where the completion of one moment by theuser would cause the initiation of a subsequent moment, for the user toplay with little or no interruption between moments. As a result, theuser, as well as any other spectator or playing gamer associated withthe user, can transition fluidly from one moment to the next withouthaving to regularly take time to search and identify the next moment toplay.

The present disclosure relates to a playlist of videogame moments, wherethe user can transition from one videogame moment to the next inaccordance with the moment playlist as described herein.

In some examples, the system may have stored in memory 172 one or moremoment playlist data structures, where a moment playlist data structureincludes identifiers of a plurality of moments or moment scripts, andoptionally, an order for the moments or moment scripts. When a userselects a moment from the graphical user interface 210 generated by the,e.g., moment catalogue application program, the processor 171 is causedby program code stored in memory 172 to query the moment playlist datastructures stored in memory 172 to identify which moment playlist datastructure(s) includes an identifier for the selected moment or runmoment script. The processor 171 is then caused to retrieve oridentified the moment playlist data structure(s) stored in memory 172,and optionally select one (if there is more than one) retrieved oridentified moment playlist data structure(s).

When the user completes a moment by having completed an end conditionper the moment script data 111, the processor 171 is then caused toanalyze the selected moment playlist data structure to determine whichmoment is next to run. In some examples where the moment playlist datastructure includes information on an order of moments or moment scripts,the processor 171 causes the retrieval from memory 172 and the runningof the next moment script 111 in accordance with the order provided inthe moment playlist data structure. In other embodiments, where themoment playlist data structure does not provide any order, the processor171 may instead be caused to retrieve moment script data of a momentthat has not yet been completed by the user (may be random), per themoment playlist data structure. For instance, the moment playlist may bealtered to indicate that a moment has been completed — e.g. altering avalue — “0” to “1”, or a character “N” to “C”, of a field, associatedwith a moment identifier or moment script identifier, when a moment hasbeen completed by the user. The processor 171 may be caused to parse thecharacter(s) of the field for each moment identifier or moment scriptidentifier to identify that or those that has/have not been completed,may select one randomly or select the next moment in the list that hasnot been completed, following the moment that has just been completed.As such, the moment selection 131 is performed in accordance with themoment playlist data structure. User input may not be necessary tochoose the next moment, as the next moment has been selected 131 inaccordance with the moment playlist data structure.

In other embodiments, the graphical user interface 210 of the momentcatalogue application program may instead display to the user on thedisplay 204 a selection of playlists that a user may select from, whereeach playlist is associated with a moment playlist data structure storedin memory 172. The graphical user interface 210 may also share with theuser information on the list of moments associated with a givenplaylist. Upon selection of a playlist by the user, the processor 171 iscaused to retrieve from memory 172 the corresponding moment playlistdata structure (e.g. by parsing metadata of the moment playlist datastructure associated with an identifier). The processor 171 is thencaused to initiate gameplay by first a moment provided in the momentplaylist data structure (e.g. corresponding to a provided order;randomly), retrieving from memory 172 the corresponding moment scriptdata 111.

In some examples, a user may generate its own playlist of moments. Theuser may select a plurality of moments using the graphical userinterface 210 generated by the moment catalogue application program, andmay optionally assign an order to the list of moments. In one example,upon the user providing a “submit” or “save” input on the graphical userinterface 210 using user input interface 205, the generated playlist bythe user may be stored as a corresponding moment playlist data structurein memory 172. When the user provides input to initiate gameplay of themoment playlist, the moment script data 111 of one moment of theplaylist (e.g. the first moment of the playlist) may be selected to run,the moment script interpreter 121 interpreting the moment as describedherein.

Once the user has completed a moment of a moment playlist datastructure, instead of returning the user to a menu provided on thegraphical user interface of moments for the user to select, interruptingthe gameplay, the processor 171 is instead caused to analyze thecorresponding moment playlist data structure to identify a next momentidentified in the moment playlist data structure, retrieving the momentscript data 111 associated with the next selected moment 131. Thistransition between the moments of a moment playlist data structureresults in smooth uninterrupted gameplay for the user, as the usertransitions between moments in accordance with the moment playlist datastructure.

In some embodiments, the system may allow for a group of related users(e.g. “friends”) to perform the completion of a moment. This associationmay be done through user accounts. In these examples, one user may playthe moment-implemented snapshot while the other users spectate. In otherexamples, multiple users may play the moment simultaneously, where,e.g., the group of users may determine which user can complete themoment first. In these examples, when the selection and execution ofmoments is carried out in accordance with a moment playlist datastructure, each of the users may experience transitions between momentsin accordance with the moment playlist data structures. For users thatare paying the moment, the snapshot of the next moment based on themoment playlist data structure may be streamed on the devices of eachuser such that each user can play the same moment as their user friends,in accordance with the moment playlist data structure. When the user isa spectator, the spectator user may instead receive a video stream ofone or more of the other users of the group that are playing the moment.

Although the invention has been described with reference to preferredembodiments, it is to be understood that modifications may be resortedto as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modificationsand variations are to be considered within the purview and scope of thepresent invention.

Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention weredescribed above in detail with reference to the attached drawing. Thisdetailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill inthe art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the presentteachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.Furthermore, each of the additional features and teachings disclosedabove and below may be utilized separately or in conjunction with otherfeatures and teachings.

Moreover, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the abovedetailed description, as well as in the experimental examples, may notbe necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and areinstead taught merely to particularly describe representative examplesof the invention. Furthermore, various features of the above-describedrepresentative examples, as well as the various independent anddependent claims below, may be combined in ways that are notspecifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additionaluseful embodiments of the present teachings.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. A computing device forimplementing a moment of a videogame for playing a portion of avideogame, comprising: memory to store data and instructions; aprocessor in communication with the memory; instructions stored inmemory that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:receive user selection input from a computer of the user of a moment ofa particular videogame associated with starting at a particular progresspoint of the particular videogame other than a beginning of theparticular videogame, the moment associated with one or more endconditions for stopping a playing of the particular videogame; cause anemulation to start of the particular videogame for streaming on thecomputer of the user, the stream including an image stream of theparticular videogame, starting at the specific progress pointcorresponding to the selected game moment; perform image analysis of theimage stream for display on a display of the computer of the user togenerate metadata on progress of the particular game by the user;determine if the one or more end conditions is met through analysis ofthe metadata on the progress of the particular game generated throughimage analysis; and cause the emulation to end, resulting in an end ofthe streaming of the particular game on the computer of the user, if theof more end conditions is met.
 22. The computing device in accordancewith claim 21, wherein the image analysis may include object recognitionto identify image objects in the image stream.
 23. The computing devicein accordance with claim 22, wherein the object recognition may be toidentify at least one of hostile unit image objects and resource imageobjects appearing in the image stream.
 24. The computing device inaccordance with claim 21, wherein the image analysis may include opticalcharacter recognition to identify characters appearing in the imagestream.
 25. The computing device in accordance with claim 24, whereinthe optical character recognition may identify at least one of a scoreand a timer included in image frames of the image stream.
 26. Thecomputing device in accordance with claim 21, further comprisinginstructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to generate an overlay for transmission to thecomputer of the user, wherein the overlay is added onto an image of thestreamed particular game appearing on a display of the computer of theuser, the overlay adding information, associated with the selectedmoment, to the image absent from the image stream corresponding to thestream of the particular game.
 27. The computing device in accordancewith claim 26, further comprising instructions stored in memory that,when executed by the processor, cause the processor to update theinformation added by the overlay as the user progresses through thegame, wherein the updating of the information is performed based on theanalyzed metadata on the progress of the particular game generatedthrough image analysis.
 28. The computing device in accordance withclaim 21, wherein at least one of the one or more end conditions of theselected moment may be different from an end condition of the particulargame.
 29. The computing device in accordance with claim 21, wherein theimage analysis may be performed in accordance with instructions providedby a script generated for the selected moment, the instructionsaffecting a type of metadata generated through the image analysis. 30.The computing device in accordance with claim 21, further comprisinginstructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to divide the image into information-rich andinformation-poor portions, wherein the image analysis of the imagestream is performed in the information-rich portions of the graphicaluser interface.
 31. A computing device for implementing a moment of avideogame for playing a portion of the videogame starting at aparticular starting point, the moment associated with snapshot data forstarting to stream the videogame at the particular progress point,comprising: memory to store data and instructions; a processor incommunication with the memory; instructions stored in memory that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to: receive userselection input from a computer of the user of a moment of a videogameassociated with starting at a particular progress point of the videogameother than a beginning of the videogame; generate a script for theselected moment defining one or more end conditions for stopping aplaying of the videogame; retrieve snapshot data of the videogamecorresponding to the selected moment, the snapshot data includinginformation for starting a stream of the videogame at the particularprogress point; cause a start of an emulation to stream the snapshotdata to the computer of the user for enabling gameplay of the videogameat the particular progress point on the computer of the user; monitorprogress of the gameplay by the user to determine if one of the one ormore end conditions defined by the script has been reached; and cause anend of the emulation when the one of the one or more end conditions hasbeen met.
 32. The computing device in accordance with claim 31, whereinat least one of the one or more end conditions may be different from theend conditions of the videogame.
 33. The computing device in accordancewith claim 31, wherein the one or more end conditions of the script maydefine a win condition and a loss condition, wherein the win conditionmay be different from a win condition of the videogame.
 34. Thecomputing device in accordance with claim 31, wherein the monitoring theprogress of gameplay may be performed through image analysis of an imagestream of the stream of the snapshot data.
 35. The computing device inaccordance with claim 34, wherein metadata may be generated from theimage analysis for determining the progress of gameplay, and wherein thedetermining if the one or more end conditions of the script is met maybe by analyzing the generated metadata to determine if the one or moreend conditions of the script is met.
 36. The computing device inaccordance with claim 35, wherein the generated metadata may include oneor more values attributable to image objects or characters appearing inthe image stream, and wherein at least one of the one or more endconditions may include a value that is compared with the one or morevalues included in the generated metadata to determine if the at leastone of the one or more end conditions is met.
 37. The computing devicein accordance with claim 31, wherein the one or more conditions mayinclude one or more of: a lose condition when the life total of a playerof the user reaches 0; a win condition when a timer clocks down to 0; alose condition when a time clocks down to 0; and a win condition when ahostile unit appearing the snapshot is defeated.
 38. The computingdevice in accordance with claim 31, wherein more than one momentselectable by the user may be associated with the snapshot data, andwherein a different script may be generated for each of the more thanone moment, and wherein each script may have at least one different endcondition.
 39. The computing device in accordance with claim 31, furthercomprising instructions stored in memory that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to generate an overlay for transmissionto the computer of the user, wherein the overlay is added onto an imageof the streamed snapshot data appearing on a display of the computer ofthe user, the overlay adding information for the user indicative of howclose the user is to meeting at least one of the one or more endconditions of the script.
 40. The computing device in accordance withclaim 31, further comprising instructions stored in memory that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to display a messagethrough the overlay indicative of one of the one or more conditions ofthe script being met when the one of the one or more conditions is met.